Information about Class of 2028 Research & Innovation is coming soon!
Robotics Design provides students with the opportunity to develop skills in programming and design using an autonomous robot. Students will explore the use of sensors and learn to troubleshoot mechanical and software issues as they create a robot that reacts to its environment and completes challenges. Self-guided skill development early in the semester is followed by a series of project challenges emphasizing teamwork and design.
Rayn Sakaguchi joined NCSSM in October 2024 as Instructor of Robotics and Computer Science on our Durham campus. He was born and raised in Hawaii before making his way to the East Coast for school. He earned a B.S. in engineering from Trinity College in Hartford, CT. Following that, he worked for Sikorsky Aircraft before leaving to pursue a Ph.D. at Duke University. His work at Duke focused on applying machine learning and computer vision algorithms to ground penetrating radar data in order to detect buried landmines. After earning his Ph.D., he worked for nine years at CoVar, a contract research company located in Durham. There he continued to apply machine learning techniques to various sensor systems across a wide range of applications. Outside of work, Rayn enjoys spending time with his family and indulging in an ever changing list of hobbies including, but not limited to: tinkering, rock climbing, playing pickup soccer or wiffleball, gaming, cooking, mushroom cultivation, chainsawing trees, and chopping wood.